Hearing of the passing of the Grand Imam of the al-Azhar Mosque and head of the al-Azhar University in Cairo, President Mohamed Nasheed sent a message of condolence to Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.
The president said he was deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, 81, who was “a strong voice for the universal Islamic values of peace and tolerance.”
President Nasheed said Tantawi’s death was a great loss to “all those moderate voices in Islam.”
He sent sincere sympathies on the behalf of the people and government of the Maldives to the president, government and people of Egypt, as well as Sheikh Tantawi’s family.
Sheikh Tantawi passed away in Riyadh on Wednesday 10 March. He was buried in Madinah at Jannatul Baqee cemetery after funeral prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque.
